Hearing begins for two men in last year's triple homicide in Ontario

Witness testimony began Wednesday in the preliminary hearing for two men charged in a triple homicide last year at an Ontario residence.

The hearing for defendants Steven David James Carter and Michael Andre Hall is to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to hold over the two men for trial on the murder charges. Both men are charged with three counts of murder, and both have pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to court records.

Detective Robert Marquez was the first witness to testify at the hearing in West Valley Superior Court, in Rancho Cucamonga. Marquez said he responded to a call at 6 a.m. on November 26 about a possible murder scene at 1004 South Magnolia Avenue.

At the residence, police officers found the body of Aaron Andrews, 25, lying in the driveway and two additional bodies, identified as Brandon Perez, 31, and Albert Lamar Thomas, 25, in the kitchen of the rear house on the property, according to Marquez. Perez lived in the rear house.

Thomas, who was wearing a pair of latex gloves underneath a pair of black gloves and a mask, was laying next to Perez, said Marquez. There was a shotgun within two feet of Perez, and a pistol and a tazer were also on the floor.

The door to the rear house had been damaged, and officers found blood on the door and in the kitchen area.

"It looked like it (the door) had been torn away from the frame," Marquez said.

Andrews, who was laying in the driveway, also had on a mask and a set of gloves with the word "sheriff" on the back. He had a gunshot wound to the left side of his chest, said Marquez.

Thomas also had one gunshot wound to the left side of his chest.

Perez had a bullet wound to his chest and another on his back, Marquez testified. He also had a large cut on his forehead and bruising to his right cheek and forearm.

The second witness on Wednesday was Kristin Martinez, who at the time of the shooting was dating the man who lived in the front house on the property.

Martinez said she stayed there periodically and was alone in the house when the shooting occurred.

She testified that about 1:45 a.m. she was awakened by a popping sound and then dogs barking.

Martinez said on Wednesday that she thought the noise was fireworks.

She got up off the couch and went to look outside, but didn't see anything. Martinez said she went back to the couch and a few minutes later heard three more pops.

That time she looked out a front window and saw what looked like a car on the opposite side of the street and someone walking near it, Martinez testified.

During cross-examination, Hall's lawyer Geoff Newman grilled Martinez about her testimony and pointed out a text message she sent her boyfriend at 1:54 a.m., in which she identified the popping noises as gunshots coming from next door.

Newman also asked Martinez whether she knew if drugs were sold out of the front house and if there had been cocaine in the front room where she was sleeping.

Martinez said she was not aware of either of those things.

She testified that she was aware there was marijuana in the front house, but she did not know how much.